Seasonal distribution of enteropathogens detected from diarrheal stool and water samples collected in Kathmandu, Nepal

• Published in: Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 520 - 526
• Main Authors: ONO, Kazuo, SHIBA KUMAR RAI, MASUDA, Kuniyoshi, HARI GOVINDA SHRESTHA, MATSUMURA, Takeo, HOTTA, Hak, KAWAMURA, Takashi, UGA, Shoji, CHIKAHIRA, Masatsugu, FUJIMOTO, Tsuguto, SHIBATA, Hiroshi, WADA, Yasunao, TSUJI, Hidetaka, ODA, Yoko, RAI, Ganesh, CHANDRIKA DEVI SHRESTHA
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bangkok Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, Regional Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network 01-09-2001
• Subjects: Adolescent; Bacterial diseases; Bacterial diseases of the digestive system and abdomen; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Diarrhea - etiology; Diarrhea - microbiology; Diarrhea - parasitology; Diarrhea - virology; Feces - microbiology; Female; Human bacterial diseases; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Nepal; Seasons; Species Specificity; Tropical medicine; Water Microbiology; Asia; Nepal; Water; Microbiological investigation; Etiology; Seasonal variation; Diarrhea; Digestive diseases; Intestinal disease; Feces; Epidemiology
• ISSN: 0125-1562

A total of 334 diarrheal fecal samples (from 210 males and 124 females) collected in Kathmandu, Nepal, were studied for various kinds of enteropathogens. Overall, 33% (111/334) fecal samples were positive for one or more enteropathogens. There was no difference in detection rates between males and females. Enteropathogen detection rates in summer, winter, spring, and autumn were 61% (40/66), 52% (45/87), 31% (25/81), and 25% (25/100), respectively. Altogether eight species of bacteria, three genera of viruses, and five species of protozoan parasites were detected with considerable seasonal variations. Among the bacterial isolates, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli topped the list followed by Vibrio sp. Only one sample had Shigella (S. sonnei). Rotavirus type A was the most frequently detected among the enteric viruses, followed by human enterovirus and human adenovirus, respectively. Among the enteric protozoan parasites, Giardia intestinalis was the most frequently detected followed by Cryptosporidium parvum. Detection of bacterial and protozoan pathogens showed a slightly high tendency in the summer season compared with that in the other seasons (p>0.05), whereas the detection of viruses was significantly high in the winter season (p<0.05). Of the total 57 water samples, 43 (75%) showed one or more bacterial species out of which 51% (22/43) were E. coli. Among the E. coli isolates, 68% were EPEC. Enterohemorrhagic E. coli (O157) was not detected.